Puerto Rico was directly hit by hurricane Maria which left the island completely dark. It was a 60-mile tornado, the most powerful to hit, devastating its citizens without commodities like electricity and telecommunications. Puerto Rico is now rebuilding itself from the natural disaster that struck them amidst an economic crisis. Uprooted trees, destroyed buildings, power outage and maze-like streets were evident in the aftermath of the disaster.
"Months and months and months and months are going to pass before we can recover from this," Felix Delgado, mayor of the northern coastal city of Catano, told The Associated Press.
The devastation was so severe that Rep. Jennifer Gonzalez said that it is going to be a "titanic effort" to rebuild. "With widespread flooding and downed power lines, it's dangerous to venture outside," she added.
Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico damaged, but this did not stop individuals from helping each other restore the island. Three weeks after the hurricane, there have been reports of scarcity in basic commodities like food, water and medicine.
According to a poll conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization, in early October, 62 percent of people were not getting the help they need. As for the federal government's response, half of the population thought they were not getting the help they needed to restore basic commodities like electricity. About 44 percent put the blame on the federal government, 32 percent on disorganization at the local level, and 10 percent on poor media coverage.
Survey results also show that many people (73%) were aware of Hurricane Maria's impact on Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, more than half of respondents were not satisfied with the federal government's restoration efforts.
According to The Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI), which is part of the U.S. Agency for International Development, money is the best way to give aid before sending material goods. Here is a list of where to volunteer or give aide.
